Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

In my latest game system, some classmates and I are playing Imperial Guardsmen in Only War. As part of character generation, the GM asked us to roll on the chart for character Demeanours. Lo and behold! I am now a Psychopathic Squad Sergeant. Seeing as I'm not a psychopath and have no real idea how to play one and still be Sergeant, I was wondering if anyone could give me some trips and help for this? Thank you!

Well if I recall correctly, psychopathy is a form of psychosis so your sargeant might occasionally lose touch of reality for a bit. This might also be a good time to be a non-Khornate Khorne Berzerker.

Just pretend to have emotion, but not quite understand or really feel them. Do things for the sake of it, as an attempt to find out what feeling is or emotion. Appear normal but the more people get to know you, the more they start to notice odd things that arent quite right with how you relate to people on a personal level.

Or just play the typical media psyco soldier leading his men to hell and having a blast.

 Swastakowey wrote:
Just pretend to have emotion, but not quite understand or really feel them. Do things for the sake of it, as an attempt to find out what feeling is or emotion. Appear normal but the more people get to know you, the more they start to notice odd things that arent quite right with how you relate to people on a personal level.

I think that's a sociopath, not a Psychopath.

Yea i just realized that as soon as you wrote sociopath...

Sorry

I'd just pick a different personality tbh.

If I were to play a psychopath I would play him in such a way where you use the rest of your squad as tools, never people. The other thing to remember is that you have to do things that only make sense to your character only. The best example I can think is Will Graham in the show Hannibal. When he was having his breakdown due to the insephilitus(sp?) he was seeing hallucinations and losing his grasp on reality. Just the way I would do it.

The short answer:

Calm, Cold

The long answer:

https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/gory-details/most-and-least-realistic-movie-psychopaths-ever

Just play a robot pretty much, who doesn't necessarily enjoy killing, but they can go to sleep in a wink after murdering all the young children at an orphanage.

 The Foot wrote:
If I were to play a psychopath I would play him in such a way where you use the rest of your squad as tools, never people. The other thing to remember is that you have to do things that only make sense to your character only.

Yes, real-life psychopaths are all about themselves. They probably don't make good soldiers, much less Sergeants...but don't let that stop you!

In my Dark Heresy campaign I played a psychopath/sociopath Assassin. How I played her was that she would kill or maim whenever it felt even slightly convenient (not because she was sadist, just because it made things easy), then was puzzled or annoyed when other characters complained about it. Also, she would crack inappropriate jokes at inappropriate times which other characters were aghast of (but the PLAYERS often thought hilarious...).

An oft-forgotten hallmark of a Psycopath is also the extreme confidence and belief in themselves. So your character would never take orders if they didn't fit with his idea of how the mission should be carried out, and at the same time, if he's convinced that a full-frontal assault is what's needed to take a position (as opposed to, say, sneaky stealth team) then he'll do whatever he has to to make that a reality.

In other words, he is always 'right' in his own eyes at least, will sacrifice anything he has to so long as it doesn't affect him, and will generally come to either control or detest his squadmates. If they aren't 100% with him, they are the enemy.

Lots of good advice in this thread. I think there are many different ways to roleplay this - and do it in a way that it adds to the fun and/or immersion of the game as a whole. The most entertaining way to go would probably the death-defying maniac we tend to see in the media.




If you need further inspiration, there are some real life examples such as Lieutenant Colonel John Malcolm Thorpe Fleming "Mad Jack" Churchill, who - as if his name wouldn't be badass enough already - pulled some real crazy stunts in WW2 that make it seem like a miracle he actually survived. Here's an example:

"As the ramps fell on the first landing craft, Churchill leapt forward from his position playing March of the Cameron Men on his bagpipes, before throwing a grenade and running into battle in the bay."

Comic book shenanigans right there!


Also, if it's of any help, here is a bit of fluff from GW's Inquisitor game:

"[...] Not all Veterans are wholly sane, or even wholly men any more. Many suffer from severe battle psychosis to the extent that they hunger for battle, while others are haunted, paranoid individuals who believe that somewhere out there is the bullet or las bolt destined for them. The more dubious Imperial Commanders do not think twice about subjecting their Guardsmen to atrocities which would be considered barbaric by many, such as forced addiction to certain combat drugs, or the implantation of adrenal and endochrinal glands that turn the Veteran into a frenzied killing machine. In the most horrendous instances, the Veteran may have undergone such traumas that they are completely unhinged and unsuitable for normal service - tales abound of platoons forced to eat their dead comrades or starve; of being isolated for years at a time under continuous shelling until they are half-blind and deaf; of seeing alien and Chaotic monstrosities so hideous that they defy sanity.

Yet even those crippled in service can be recruited by the Inquisition, using their resources to fit them with bionics to replace shattered limbs and corrupted organs so that they may once again fight for the Emperor. Years of strict discipline and adherence to the chain of command makes Imperial Guard Veterans ideal tools for an Inquisitor. The horrors of war and years of following orders have long since erased any thoughts of mercy or compassion and expunged the slightest trace of guilt or conscience. Veterans know that as long as they follow orders, they themselves are innocent of any sin they may commit.

Such men will follow orders to the letter, and an Inquisitor needs such ruthless and merciless servants on occasion; men who will fire on innocents if necessary, who will not baulk at killing the young, old and infirm if they are a threat. Alien domination, daemonic possession and heresy have no respect for those it affects, and an Inquisitor and his followers must be prepared to do whatever is necessary to overcome it."

Occasionally stab one of the other characters. In the ear. Lick the blood up. Bonus points if you do it to the actual player. Have your character naked while he does it.


Why are you guys all backing away?

OK...hopefully you come back to see this.

Before you turn into a psychopath I want you to ask to start the game normal, during the first battle I want your character to freak out, and have a psychotic break. It can be caused by brain damage, excessive stress (such as becoming a sargeant) or certain psychoactive drugs.

For demeaner I will list the common qualities you will embrace


Superficial charm and good "intelligence"
Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking
Absence of "nervousness" or psychoneurotic manifestations
Unreliability
Untruthfulness and insincerity
Lack of remorse and shame
Inadequately motivated antisocial behavior
Poor judgment and failure to learn by experience
Pathologic egocentricity and incapacity for love
General poverty in major affective reactions
Specific loss of insight
Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations
Fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink and sometimes without
Suicide threats rarely carried out
Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated
Failure to follow any life plan.

A lot of us here will probably have a weird oh gak that's me moment...

Have fun